Reliable well control is essential in many industries, particularly in the oil and gas industry. In many cases, electrical submersible pumps (“ESPs”) are used to artificially lift a product stream of hydrocarbons. Well control is especially problematic in slim completions because of space restrictions. Slim completions are generally defined as a completion where the inside diameter of the well is smaller than conventional, (e.g., less than seven (7) inches). Space restrictions often cause high flow velocities that lead to serious erosion problems and friction losses. Moreover, erosion damage to an ESP causes premature failures of the ESP and loss of production.
In many conventional slim completions, the tubing extends along the inner walls of the casing and beyond the most down hole portion of the ESP. Additionally, a subsurface safety valve is often connected to the inner walls of the tubing to prevent hydrocarbons from reaching the surface in case of an emergency. In the alternative, or in addition to the subsurface safety valve, a control valve is connected to the inner walls of the tubing to control the flow of hydrocarbons that are pumped to the surface. During operation, hydrocarbons are pumped by the ESP from the interstitial space between the outer wall of the pump and the inner walls of the tubing.